Page 71 of Hula Girl

He looks up at me with a smirk. “I will be. I just need a minute.”

I realize he’s being prudent to stop things given where we are. Still, I can’t help but ask, “Probably not a good idea to have sex in the office?”

“There’s nothing I’d rather do.” He sighs regretfully. “But you’re right. Probably not a good idea. The whole floor saw us come in here. I don’t think we need that story going around.”

I nod. But then say, “Hey, what does it matter to them? We’re engaged, aren’t we?”

Meeting my eyes, he shakes his head with an appreciative smile. “You better believe it,” he says and quickly closes the distance between us.

28

Ford

This girl. Man, she’s something. I’m watching her from the backyard of her mother’s small home. She and her mom are just inside at the kitchen counter, pulling together dinner. Ava is lightly frying corn tortillas before dipping them into enchilada sauce whereupon her mom takes them and fills them with a combination of cheese, onions, and chicken. Pretty soon, we’ll have plates filled with those enchiladas, topped with fresh avocado along with rice and pinto beans to go with it. My mouth waters, both because it smells so good and because I worked up an appetite back at the office. That quickie was phenomenal.

Yeah, we had the office talking. But we walked out of there on a cloud. It’s hard to care what people think when I’ve got Ava by my side. Nothing else matters.

That feeling lasted the whole car ride here. I should have been worried about what her mom would think of me, but all I could do was stare at my Hula Girl in amazement.

I needn’t have worried about Rafaela, Ava’s mother, anyway. She greeted me so warmly and with such generosity that I immediately felt welcome. After giving me a bottle of Pacifico beer, she suggested I enjoy the breeze in the backyard while they finished up dinner. I’ve been out here, sitting at the wrought iron table, nursing my beer, and musing on all of this.

When they join me, loaded down with food that looks so delicious I know I’ll want to lick the plate clean, I realize I should have been thinking of exactly what I’ll say to Rafaela. Especially when after we’ve all enjoyed the meal with superficial conversation, she looks at me expectantly.

“You’re up, Surfer Boy,” Ava teases.

“Oh, I, uh …” I say before taking a deep breath and starting fresh. “So, first, you should know how much I adore and respect your daughter.”

Rafaela nods cryptically. Doesn’t look like I’m going to be able to soft-pedal my way out of this.

“And I’m just going to be brutally honest,” I continue. “This all started as a way to sort of mess with her ex, Bryce.”

With that, Rafaela raises her eyebrows and looks at Ava.

“I knew from Ava that he didn’t truly understand what a remarkable woman she is. So, when I saw him approaching her, and frankly, getting kind of handsy with her, I interrupted and said I was her fiancé. Just to make him back off and prove him wrong about what Ava was capable of.”

Glancing at Ava, I see she looks embarrassed by me sharing all of this. I figure, though, that the only way to get Rafaela on our side is to tell her everything.

There’s a tense moment of silence.

Finally, Rafaela says, “I never did like that Bryce.”

I laugh. “See,” I tell Ava, “mothersknow. They just know.”

Ava smiles, giving in to that notion without objection.

“Then, my father came around, and I urged Ava to keep up the … lie—let’s just call it what it is.”

“Why?” Rafaela asks simply.

I struggle for a moment to explain this part. How honest should I be? Should I tell her that if my father thought he was being toyed with over something like this that it’s possible he could do something to hurt Ava’s career? Wouldn’t she instantly dislike me for putting her daughter in this precarious position?

“I just, uh, truthfully, it was the path of least resistance. My father is a very powerful man. He hates to be caught by surprise. If he were to think he’d been duped as part of a joke, well, no good would have come from it. So, we just need to play along with this whole thing until I can finish up my business here.”

Rafaela nods thoughtfully. “When you finish your business, you’ll do what?”

“I’ll go home to Maui.”

She looks at Ava. To my disappointment, Ava is quick to reassure her, saying, “I’m not going anywhere.”

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